Apparatus for making mixed water gas and coal gas



Sept. 27, 1932. 5. J. B. TULLY ET AL 1,880,162

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MIXED WATER GAS AND COAL GAS Filed Nov. 11. 1927 Patented Sept 27, 1932 warren sra s.

SYDNEY JAMES BRITTIFFE TULLY -AND- OLIVER EVAN YEO, OF NEwARK-ON-TIEiE- iseala s FFECE 1 TRENT, ENGLAND APPARATUS FOR, MAKING MIXED HATER GAS AND COAL GAS Application filed. November 11, 1927, Serial No. 232,602,

Carburetted water gas suitable for heating and lighting purposes has heretofore been produced in plant comprising a gas producer designed to contain coke and provided at the 5 bottom with inlets for air and steam, a retort arranged above and in direct communication with the top of the gas producer and designed to contain coal or other carbona-V ceous fuel (hereinafter referred to as coal), a heating jacket charged with chequerwork surrounding the retort and in communication with the top of the gas producer through a series of openings, usually called nostrils, a gas carburetting chamber and two valve controlled conduits (hereinafter called for distinction A and B) whereby the upper ends of the heating jacket and retort can be connected alternately to the ,carburetting chamber. In the working of such plant, for the production of carburetted water gas, fuel in the gas producer is raised to a state of incandescence by blowing air therethrough and the resulting blow gases have been caused to flow through the nostrils into the heating jacket and thence through the associate valve controlled conduit A into and through :the carburetting chamber the hot' gases finally escaping through a snift valve into the external atmosphere or elsewhere, as may be desired, either direct or through a gas fixing chamber, secondary air being admitted to the heating jacket and carburetting chamher, if desired, to effect more or less complete combustion of the blow gases passing therethrough and the production of a high temperature therein. During this blowing stage the valve controlled conduit B is closed so that volatile products distilled from the coal in the heated retort will descend through the retort and .fiow into the heating chamber with the blow gas and be carried forward therewith. After the heating chamber and the carburetting chamber have in this way been raised to a sufficiently high temperature,-the air inlet .valve and snift valve are closed and steam is admitted to the lower end of the gas producer and thence passed through theincandescent fuel in the gas producer to produce water gas. Y According to one method of working, the

'main for subsequent purification.

and in Great Britain December 31, 1926.

resulting water gas is passed through the nostrils into the heating chamber and thence through the valve controlled conduit A into the heated carburetting chamber and therein carburetted by volatilehydrocarbonsproduced by the cracking, dueto the heat of the chamber, of liquid hydrocarbons or; oil fed into such chamber the valve controlled conduit B being closed so that volatile hy-. drocarbons evolved from the coal in the retort will pass downward therethrough and flow into the-heating chamber with the water gas and thence pass in admixture therewith into the carburetting chamber, the carburetted water gas thus produced passing from the chamber, it may be through a gasfixing chamber in series therewith and previously heated by the blow gases, into a gas 7 Or according to anotherzmethod, the valve controlled conduit A'is closed and the valve 7 controlled conduit B opened, so that the heated water gas produced in the gas produ'cer is caused to flow upward through the coal in the retort and "become mixed with volatile hydrocarbonsevolved from the coal by the heat of the jacket and water gas and the mixture of water'gas and volatile hydrocarbons caused to pass through the valve controlled conduit B into the carburetting chamber and be therein carburetted like the mixed water gas and volatile hydrocarbons passed through the heating jacket into the carburettingchamber according *to the first method. r p

It has been found in practice that when working according to the first mentioned method of producing carburetted water gas coal in the retort are subjected to cracking in the oil carburetting chamber.

Now the present invention has for its object to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages and enable gas of diiierent thermal values to be simultaneously produced in an advantageous manner. It also has for its object to avoid the use of gas valves between the heating jacket and retort and the carbur'etting chambenisuch valves being a source of much trouble and expense.

To this end, in gas making plant of the type referred to theupper endof the retort is-provided with a valve controlled gas outlet pipe unconnected with "the carburetting chamberbut connected to a suitable seal pot or. other receptacle, and the upper end of theheating chambersurrounding the retort is directly connected to the oil carburetting chamber by a valveless conduit that is always openfor the free passage of gas therethrough- The outlet of the oil carburetting chamber is con:-

'nected as heretofore, to a water seal box,

, retort to be charged with coal introduced through the valve controlled fuel inlet 3, 4 isthe heating chamber which is provided. with refractory bricks 5 arranged in stag; gered relation and connected to the upper part of the gas generator through the nostrils 6, while? and 8 are inlets for air and steam respectively tothe ash pit below the grate 9 of the gas generator, 10 a valve controlled pipe connected toan annular chamber 11: for admitting secondary air to the heating chamber 4, 12 a carburetting chamber provided at the top with an inlet pipe 13 for theliquid l'iyd'ro-carbon or oil to be cracked for carburetting water gas flowing through the chamber, and witha-va-lve controlled secondary air inlet pipe 14 and at the bottom with. an outlet 15 connected to the lower end of a gas fixing chamberlG, the latter chamber containing chequerwork 17 and provided at the top with a snift valve 18 and agas outlet pipe 19 for connection to gas purifying or other apparatus, not shown, as heretofore usual. The carburetting chamber 12 may, although not so shown, be provided with refractory chequerwork, as heretofore, and be provided at the bottom. with a supplementary air inlet, as indicated at 14. The heating chamber 4 in this eirample surrounds the retort 2 and is formed'between the latter and'an annular'wall or jacket 4a. In such plant according to the present invention, the retort 2 is not adapted to be connected to the carburetting chamber 12 but is provided with a gas outlet pipe 20 that is unconnected wit-h the carburetting chamber and by which gas can be led from its upper end to a water seal pot and thence passed to any desired gas treatment plant, not shown. The pipe 20 may be provided with a supplementary pipe 20:connected to the foul gas main, not shown.

Also, according to the present invention, the upper end of the heating chamber 4 is in di rect free and open communication with the upper end of the carburetting chamber 12 through a valveless conduit 21.

In the. modified construction shown in Figs. 2 and 2a,. the carburetting, chamber 12 is formed; in. a portion of the space between theretort 2. and jacket 4.11 that is separated by w vertical walls @from: the portion thereof c'ontaining. the refractory chequer'work 5 and constituting the heating chamber 4, the upper end of the said carburettingchamber 12 being in free and open communication at the top through the chamber 21 with the top of the said heating chamber 4,, the construction in other respects being similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

In the further modified construction shown in Fig. ,3, the carburetting chamber'12 is shown as of relatively larger size than in the other figures and provided at the bottom with a secondary air inlet22 and with an outlet 15. thatemay be connected to a gas fixing chamber, as in theother figures, or to the lower end of a waste heat tubular steam generator, not shown, each: provided with a: snift valve and a gas outlet pipe as in Figs. 1 and 2. I

With plant constructed as. described, gas of different thermal values can be produced simultaneously in an advantageousmanner.

Thus two qualities of carburetted water gas can be produced as followsz- The coke in the gas producer is first blown to incandescence'by admission of air through the inlet '7 the blow gases thus produced being caused to travel. up through the heatingcchamber' iand byway of the valveless conduit 21 through the carburetting chamber. 12 and. thence through the gas fixing chamber 16,, if used, to the atmosphere through the snift valve 18- Secondary air ma-ybe admitted through the valve controlled inlet pipes 10 and 1 1 to cause combustion of the blow gases during their passage through the heating and carburetting chambers 4 and 12. During this air blowing stage, the gas outlet pipe 20 fromthe top of the retort is opened only sufiiciently to allow of the volatile products including same hydrocarbon evolved by distillation of the coal in the retort 2 escaping, or alternatively, the

said pipemay be-closed and the said volatile products including some hydrocarbon be drawn ofi through the oil-take pipe 20 so that in either case they are conserved and not caused to pass downward through the retort and into the heating chamber 4 and be cracked therein.

When the heating chamber 4 and carburet-- ting chamber 12 have been raised to the necessary temperature, the air supply pipes 7, 10 and l l and snift valve 18 are closed. Steam is then admitted through the inlet 8 to the gas generator 1 to form water gas and the valve in the gas outlet pipe 20 from the top of the retort 2 is opened and oil is admitted through the oil inlet pipe 18 to the carburetting chamber 12. A portion of the water gas from the generator is caused to pass up through the coal being carbonized in the retort 1 and become mixed with the rich coal gas evolved from the coal, the enriched water gas of high thermal value being led away by the outlet pipe 20. The remainder of the water gas being generated in the gas producer is caused to pass through the nostrils 6 and heating chamber 4 and thence direct into the heated carburetting chamber 12 where it is enriched by the oil gas pro- 'duced by decomposition of the oil admitted thereto and cracked therein. The two sepa- 7 rate streams of carburetted water gas of dif ferent thermal values thus produced, are led away for separate treatment and storage. The proportion of water gas passing through the carburetting chamber 12 can be controlled by regulating the back pressure on the gas outlet 15 therefrom, or by other suitable known means.

At the end of the water gas making period, the valve in the gas outlet pipe 20 is closed, or partially closed, and the oil inlet pipe 13 is closed. The enriched gas remaining in the carburetting chamber 12 can be removed by any of the known methods, such as by scavenging with water gas, air blow gas or reverse steaming. The foregoing air blowing and water gas making operations are then repeated.

What we claim is 1. In a mixed water gas and coal gas making plant, a water gas generator, a coal carbonizing retort arranged above and in free and direct communication at its lower end with the upper end of said generator, a vertical heating chamber and a vertical carburetting chamber each formed in one structure with said retort and having their inner walls formed by said retort, and a gas outlet pipe extending from the top of said retort and unconnected with said carburetting chamber, the lower end of the heating chamher being in communication through ducts with the upper end of said gas generator and the lower end of said retort, and the lower end of said carburetting chamber having a gas outlet, and the upper ends of said heating chamber and carburetting chamber being in free,direct and constant communication with each other through a valveless passage within the structure.

bonizing retort arranged above and in free and direct communication at its lower end with said gas generator, a jacket spaced from and surrounding said retort, a heating chamber formed by and between said retort and a portion of said jacket, and a carburetting chamber formed by and between said retort and another portion of said acket, the lower end of said heating chamber being in communication at its lower end through duets with the upper end of said water gas generator and the lower end of said retort and at its upper end in free, direct and constant communication with the upper end of less passage, and said carburetting chamber hav ng a gas outlet at 1ts lower end.

3. In a mixed water gas and coal gas makher, is in direct communication at its lower end with the upper end of said gas generator and the lower end of said retort, and the other chamber, constituting a carburetting chamber is in free, direct and constant communication at its upper end with the upper end of the heating chamber and has a gas outlet at its lower end, and a gas outlet pipe at the upper end of said retort and unconnected with said carburetting chamber. Signed at Newark, England this twenty seventh day of October, 1927. 1

SYDNEY JAMES BRITTIFFE' TULLY. Y OLIVER EVAN YEO.

85 said carburetting chamber through a valve- 

